Where should I move?

Question

Hey everyone! Alessandro here (you can call me Alex)—I'm Italian, currently living in Manhattan. NYC isn't what it used to be and I decided it's not worth to stay here for the next 6-12 months—so I decided to move somewhere else :)

I can move anywhere: I'm looking for a city that has both a good real estate market and a good quality of life—ideally close to the mountains and on the east coast. My focus is generating cashflow and my goal is to buy and hold 3 single family rentals in the next 12 months and then buy and hold multi-family rentals.

I've read multiple articles with a headline that sounds something like: "best city to buy rental property"—but none of them is convincing. How would you suggest I make this decision? What are the main criteria? And if you had the opportunity to move anywhere in the US, where would you move?

Thanks!

Brenden Mitchum · Answer

Hey @Alessandro Prioni, welcome to the BP community!

When doing my research on markets prior to moving to Atlanta, there were numerous factors I looked at. You'll find that most people look at 6-8 factors (although there are tons of criteria you can add). The big 6 I repeatedly see/hear are:

1. Population over 100k

2. .5% or more year-over-year (YOY) population growth

3. 1% or more YOY median household income growth

4. 2% or more YOY job growth

5. 2.5% or more YOY median home value growth

6. Decreasing crime index

Like I said there are a bunch of other criteria you can and should look at depending on your strategy. But these will get you started and there are plenty of good sites to do your research, like data usa, city-data, best places, neighborhood scout.

However, I did have other personal criteria that were just as important to me. Since I would actually be living in whichever market I chose, it had to be somewhere I wanted to be. The deciding factors for me were the amount of green space we have here and the ease of reaching many fantastic rock climbing spots. Yes, Atlanta is close to the mountains if that's what you're into, but what else do you want out of an area you plan to live in for the foreseeable future?

Where should I move?

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